“An owl swallows its quarry as whole as possible, trusting to its inner organs to do the sifting and selecting. Later it throws up pellets of the indigestible bones, hair, etc.” ~Anna Botsford Comstock
After church, we came home and the kids all went to bed for naptime. Rich was tired so he took a nap in his recliner. I was tired but I simply had to take advantage of the free time so I bundled up and went outside for a long walk in the woods. It was much warmer today but I still had to wear a sweater and my coat and my fingerless gloves.
The first place I went to was a big rock at the edge of the woods. Pastor spoke of Christ being our rock today during his sermon. It made me think of the verse that I wrote down on an index card a few weeks ago. I hope that every time I see a big rock, I am reminded of my Savior and the solid foundation He gives me in my life.
“And the rain descended,
and the floods came,
and the winds blew,
and beat upon that house;
and it fell not:
for it was founded upon a rock.”
Matthew 7:25
Here in New England, almost everything outside is still a shade of brown, gray, or green. Any spot of color is an opportunity to bend down and feast my eyes. The Master Creator has designed so much beauty and I enjoy seeing what colors He puts together. Here we have a shade of red and a shade of yellow, both sharing the same leaf.
The stream is busier and louder in certain places in the woods. There are rocks of all sizes in it and next to it, perfect for stepping on or sitting on. I found one right in the middle of the rushing water and just sat. I tried to pray, but words didn’t seem adequate so I just sat there and felt happy. Water is so refreshing. . .to listen to, to watch, to drink. . .Jesus is our living water for our soul. He is our Rock and He is also our Water.
“Therefore with joy
shall ye draw water
out of the wells of salvation.”
Is. 12:3
“But whosoever drinketh
of the water that I shall give him
shall never thirst;
but the water that I shall give him
shall be in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life.”
“. . . .And whosoever will,
let him take of the water of life freely.”
Rev. 22:17
I sat there and enjoyed the stream for a while, and then I walked up toward the beaver pond in the woods. The closer I got, the noisier the air became. . .full of the sounds of singing FROGS. It was so loud. I jumped over a small running stream of water and snuck around to try to see what was going on. These were modest frogs, as soon as they sensed my presence, every one of them stopped their singing. I sat down in a sunbeam and waited for about 10 minutes (or more) before I started seeing their beady eyes come up from the water. There were a lot, but I didn’t get to see any of them up close. What were they doing? Go ask your mother.
This is a picture of the swampy beaver pond. . .this grass will grow up thick and green over the summer months. . .but at the moment only the tall, dead, brown grass from last season is standing. There are sections of water that are clear and open (not pictured).
After that interesting episode, I continued walking and started picking up little treasures to take home in my pocket. I also studied this moss. . .that I had never noticed before. . .(I am a admirer of moss). . when I touched it it was dry, coarse, and wooly!
Here is a picture of a small clump of moss that was lighter green and much softer:
Rich thought it looked like a little tiny green hedgehog.
The acorns are all opening up, getting ready to send down a root:
More treasures=
a feather from a blue jay, a piece of wood that I later accidently dropped in the stream, and a dry mass of fur and bones that an owl brought up. (regurgitated). They do that you know. I was excited to find it, in a yuck kind of way. I took it home and the kids and I picked through it. They were not as impressed as I was. I think they thought it was gross. There were a lot of little jaw bones in it. With tiny teeth.
I found a stump covered in moss. Lots of shades of green and brown, lovely for my eyes to see.
Last stop=one more sit by the stream. This section was very quiet. I closed my eyes and could not hear any water sounds at all. It was just flowing along. . . .I sat down on a rock and there was another rock below that I could rest my feet on. I stuck my feet out to take the picture. It was a nice place to sit, to say the least.
“He leads me beside the still waters”
“He restoreth my soul”
Psalm 23
When I went inside, Rich was on the phone and the kids were watching a video. Caleb was ready and waiting with a couple of books for me to read. We sat on the couch and ate leftover Easter candy instead.
Hope you are all having a pleasant evening. God loves you.
Good to be Home 
You are blessed with beautiful surroundings!!
Oh you found an owl pellet!!! You are so lucky. My kids were never as impressed as I was either??? You have Anna Comstock’s book don’t you? Isn’t it wonderful! One year my daughter memorized the poem called “The Gall Dweller.” I think it is in that book too. I’ve got this fascination with galls too!What a beautiful Sunday outing! and you captured God’s creations so well. Blessings,Susan
Thank you for sharing about your walk; I enjoy reading about simple things like this, and your post almost made me feel as though I were experiencing those things with you. That last picture! It made me feel as though I were sitting next to you, looking down at the water and your feet next to me! The Scriptures are wonderful; I have been reminded of similar ones when out in nature. And your “finds” were so fascinating! I think science must be one of the strongest class offerings you have in your home school. Oh, and looking at that moss makes me wish for some – it looks so soft and inviting.
Yes, I did know that about owls, but I have never found any owl pellets. Beautiful pictures and Scriptures! So serene, and you describe everything so well, it is like I went on the walk myself. I had some Easter candy today- Hershey kisses with coconut creme inside. Very yummy, but now I’m wishing I hadn’t enjoyed quite so many!! I think the moss is just lovely- it looks so soft and so green! I’m anxiously awaiting green.
Your weekdays are so busy that it’s wonderful to see you relaxing this way on the weekends. I think my favorite shot has to be the last one — but I like the first one too, and your walk through the others is most interesting! Thank you for sharing!
I think I would like an area rug that looked exactly like that wooly moss.And your sitting rock reflection is divine
Lovely pictures, I would have loved to take that walk with you today. I really need someone to talk to, it just looks like we could have done lots of that. š I hope you had a nice evening. Love you.
So will you be putting another frog video soon? The go ask your mother comment made me laugh. :)Your walk sounds wonderful. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
what a peaceful walk! I hope you have a great week Shanda =)
I use to spend hours in the woods as a young girl doing all those things. Happy memories, thanks for sharing your walk!
Hugs
The pictures are beautiful, I’m glad you had a peaceful time. I went shopping this afternoon with my Abby and we had a great time. Its nice to take breaks and get restored.
Okay, that moss is way cool. Also, I’m really glad you had a reason for putting up that first quote…I was like, “That is so gross…doesn’t sound like something Shanda would put up!” LOL…now I know why!
Sure enjoyed the walk. Especially the “He leadeth me beside the still waters”
You have such interesting and lovely places to explore!
Thank you for letting me enjoy your walk with you.
Just wanted to stop by. I haven’t commented much lately but I have been reading and following along. You make me smile, even when you’re sad you are so honest about it and it just touches my heart. I know where you’re coming from in your struggles and your “happies”. Enjoy your Monday and the promise of this new week!
Thought you might enjoy this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR4PQ30VkBk
Someday, dear lady, I really hope we get to enjoy a long walk together! I “kind of” enjoyed reading about the owl pellet, but sad too at the little “jaws and teeth” part ~ oh well, that’s the way it has to be, right? Anyway ~ glad you shared your walk with us ~ blessings to you ~
Thanks for sharing your walk with me! I would love to see that moss that was dry and wool like! It looks like a shag carpet or something! Grateful for the limitless love God gives us! I hope you have a great day!
I loved that last picture. What a wonderful warm post. God loves you, Shanda! Have a beautiful day in Him!
I am so ready for a walk through our woods and neighborhood. Wonderful pictures.
Beautiful, beautiful post — I guess I’ll have to wander out by our little pond and see what’s there! Trusting you have a great week!
What a way to restore your spirit. Water calms me and brings me instant peace. What a beauitful walk you had and thanks for sharing it with us.
Ahh we just got Anna Comstock’s book….are you guys Charlotte Mason homeschoolers?
it’s so neat how you were able to weave scripture thru nature like that.
thanks for sharing š
“go ask your mother”. LOL!!! I always love your nature photos. simply breathtaking!
I was amazed too at how much that moss looks like carpet. Beautiful pictures. I could almost feel the air and sniff the smells like I was really there!
A walk like that sounds so peaceful! I think I need one of those…I wish we could get rid of more of this snow though!!! We are suppose to get dumped on pretty hard (with more snow) tonight…hmmmm…no comment! :oPI loved all of the pictures! Those ones of the moss are great! The first one does look super wooly like…and as to the picking through the owl “leftovers” hahaha!!! Yuck! But yes, interesting! But YUCK!!!!! What were the little jaws and teeth from? Mice? Hmmm…I love the fiestaware as well! It was so fun setting the table with it for Easter and serving everything out of Fiesta! I am waiting for a few canisters to come in…I cannot wait!!!! I just got an old pie safe and cannot wait to have my canisters sitting on top of it! :o) Oh, and when you leave comments feel free to you as many “!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” as you like! :o) You picked up on me liking them huh? :o) Just a wee bit…!!!!!!!!!! Have a wonderful day! and thanks once again for sharing some great pictures…I almost feel like I took the walk with you!!
Your pictures always catch the essence of life. I happen to love moss, too!
I can just see all your kids crowding around and picking apart the owls vomit!
The picture with your sneakers is so cool, and I lvoe how you can see little curls in the moss, it is so so green! Sunday I took pictures of moss but ours is not as green, Coco Loco and Eti and I were petting it and making up stories about how is was the head or a sleeping dragon and things like that.
Thanks for the great walk….so lovely and serene. I especially like your comments about what you saw and scriptures that matched. So nice to have the Lord talk to our hearts. The reflection under your feet is beautiful! Have you read the book “pocket full of pinecones” ? It is by Karen Andreola -sp? A fictional account of a mom homeschooling and nature walks…..I think you would enjoy it. Lord bless, Jenny
love that last shot – it looks like you’re walking on water! just keep your eyes on Jesus and you won’t sink. lovely post~
More great posts from you, as usual. . .I cannot take time to comment on them all, but they are all wonderful! I actually got around to posting a few blogs myself last week. . .yea! I love your pictures and your sense of humor. I am cracking up over the owl pellet. My oldest son recently “disected” one in his 3rd grade class, and he loved it! He’s such a nature boy and found the whole experience very enlightening. If he’d found the pellet himself in the woods behind our house he would have been even more thrilled! Thanks again for sharing such great thoughts—
This post is a refreshing encouragement to a harried mom today. Thank you!